They’re all the same thing.
The fundamental reason for discrimination is the egotistic need to feel superior, and the compulsive need to feel superior likely comes from insecurity, or a sense of lackness. When you’re lacking something: self-confidence, beauty, success, popularity–whatever it may be, those negative feelings easily channel themselves into visible forms of discrimination, or discriminatory attitudes, or other forms of negative behaviour–because those feelings will do anything to stay hidden. They build a wall around your personality so you don’t have to face it. Some toughen themselves up because they feel vulnerable. Some brag incessantly about themselves because they feel empty on the inside. Some distance themselves from the crowd because they’re afraid of getting hurt.
It all comes down to fear, really. The fear of recognizing the parts of you that you refuse to see, the parts of you that you hate, the parts of you that dominate your behaviour, whether you are aware of it or not.
And when you build up that wall, you either retreat into your own world, into your own silence–or you enter an offensive mode to repel anything that will remind you of your hidden self. And the easiest way to do that is to put people down so you feel elevated. You feel better. You feel more complete because you have successfully depleted another.
Race. And then it’s your sex. And then maybe it’s your financial status, your religion, your political standing–whatever. Racism is so common because it’s one of the first things we pick up after seeing someone. Sexism is next.
It’s really not that complicated. Discrimination, or condescension towards others, or self-importance–they’re products of an inflated self that is devoid of a self. That’s what I think. This lacking, this emptiness, is then translated into different kinds of abdominal actions that humanity honestly don’t need.
Sometimes I feel like–I want to scream at the world, and just be like, “STOP!! Stop what you’re doing and think for a minute!! Just stop and think, look into yourself for a minute. Are you happy? Are you afraid? What are you afraid of? Why are you afraid?”
And I want to scream, I want to shake the world’s shoulders–shake everyone and just be like, “IT DOESN’T HAVE TO BE LIKE THIS.”
All it takes, for the world to become a better place (as cheesy as that sound…), is some self-reflection…but most of us are too busy to do even that, aren’t we??
